Energy demands are increasing worldwide and sources of energy are becoming more and more difficult to obtain and require enhanced technology for recovering. As a result, sources of energy are becoming scarcer and, therefore, are requiring increasingly complex technology to recover. In addition to conventional sources of energy, other alternative generation systems are available. These include hydroelectric, thermal and mechanical transfers of energy, wind power, and solar. In order to meet the increasing world energy demand, an increased use of solar energy is inevitable.
The effectiveness of solar systems for electricity generation or heating of water therefore depends upon the particular site in which solar energy generation is utilized. Visual assessments and manual estimates provide some indication as to the efficiency and effectiveness of a site for solar energy generation, but tend to be inefficient and can frequently be inaccurate.
Prior art methods for evaluating a structure's potential for placement of solar panels for generation of power are presently labor-intensive. A typical house evaluation includes the use of various instruments and climbing to the intended surface to profile the solar power potential by estimating the power (often in KW-hours) that may be generated. This evaluation may also take into account the effects of shade caused by other structures and objects. Based on the estimated power generation and any potential shade, the expected return on investment is assessed. If the structure has the necessary geometric specifications and reasonable annual solar exposure, then a certain solar power system size is recommended that generates a desired return-on-investment (ROI). Nonetheless, the process is time-consuming and relatively expensive.
It is noted that digital solutions for profiling a structure's potential for placement of solar panels are discussed in the related art. One solution is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,417,061 entitled “Method and Systems for Provisioning Energy Systems.” However, such prior art solutions typically require manual operation, which is costly and cannot provide instant and global coverage. Moreover, such prior art solutions are more susceptible to human error, thereby leading to loss of power due to inefficient placement of solar panels.
Another prior art solution, described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,391 entitled “System and Method for Identifying the Solar Potential of Rooftops,” describes an automatic system for determining whether a certain rooftop meets certain solar-potential criteria. However, the embodiments described therein rely upon three dimensional mapping data as an input. Such three dimensional mapping data is highly expensive to generate and to maintain. Additionally, such three dimensional mapping data requires increased computing resources to store and to process, thereby reducing efficiency of systems implementing the three dimensional mapping data.
It would be therefore advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the limitations of the prior art by automatically and cost effectively determining a potential solar power-installable surface area.